As she and her Marshall teammates made their way to Northside Complex on Tuesday, senior Joi Abarintos admitted to having a soccer epiphany.

In her first three varsity seasons, she had been a part of some of the program's high marks — winning a district championship and coming within one victory of advancing to the Region IV-5A tournament in 2008.

But now the annual appearance to the playoffs hung in the balance, resting on the outcome of one game. It was a position the Rams weren't accustomed to.

Tuesday's 1-1 District 27-5A tie against Warren, however, left Marshall in an all-too-familiar setting — in the Class 5A playoffs for the fifth straight year.

“It was definitely nerve-racking,” Abarintos said. “We definitely wanted to go to the playoffs, so we pushed as hard as we could, and we're here.''

Getting there, though, wasn't easy. The Rams (12-8-1, 8-7-1) had to rally from an early deficit, recording the tying goal in the latter stages of the first half.

Warren (8-13-3, 5-8-3), which needed a victory and a Stevens loss to secure its first playoff berth since 2006, went ahead in the 24th minute when Alyssa Beard put in a pass from Megan Jeffries.

The Warriors appeared as if they would carry that advantage into halftime, but Marshall junior Sara Coronado scored on 20-yard shot with a little more than four minutes left in the opening half.

Coronado's shot appeared as if it would travel wide right but curved slightly and snuck inside the right post.

“It was crazy,” Coronado said. “The only thing that was running through my mind was playoffs. I heard Coach (Stacey Reyes) say, ‘Sara, just take it.' I just took the shot, and it went in. I was surprised.''